Weft replenishing loom



.Dec. 18, 1945. w. H. WAKEFIELD.

WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM' Filed June 3, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mllllllllllll Dec. 18, 1945. w. H. WAKEFIELD WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM.

Filed Jiin'e 5, 1944 4 Sheets- Sheet 2 Dec. 18,1945. w. H. WAKEFIELD 2,391,370

WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Jfine'3,-1944 4 Sheets-Sheet s Dec. 18, 1945. w. HQWAKEFIELD WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed June 3, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 18, 1945 WEET: REPLENISHIN G 'LOOM Walter, H. la kefi eld,v Worcester; Mass, assignor to. Croi m en.

AiKiiQi Loom. W s. Wo r es: a gre at Ma sa t ApplicationJunefi; 1944, Serial No. 538,569

invention relates to. improvements in. multi stackweft-replenishing looms audit is the general I object ofthe; invention to provide means. for moving the stacleselector out ofregisterwith. the bobbin; releasers of; thestacks for the -pur-. poseofpreventing an untimely indication of: weft exhaustion from causing a1we-ftreplenishing operation of the cm.

In filling mixing pick and-pick weft 'replenishlooms it is customary to' employ underthe 10 bohlpin magazine two shifting shuttle boxes which shift in afour-picle cycle such thatthe upper. box moves to inactive positiononthe first pick of 'a four-pick cycleand returnstoaction on the third pick." When the; weft detector isin front. of the lay at the magazine end, as -in the present instance, it rises and fallsin register-with-the. top shuttle box to detect thecondition-.oflweft therein, If the detector shouldindicateexhaua tion during the first pick of thecycleas-theboxesare rising such indication can proper-lybe com.- Inunicated to the magazine for replenishment of the weft supply in the upper box, since the latter will be in high positionji'rnmediatelyundcr the magazine. If, however, the-detector-should indicate weft exhaustion during the third pick Whilethe boxes are moving down, such indication. should not becommunicated-to. the magazine-bee cause th-e shutt1e'box will then-b too low-.to..re=.. ceivea bobbin from-the.magazine.

Multiestack bobbin. magazines have a. sele c1;g which registers one at a timew-ith. a, series of bobbin releasers, one for eachbObhinsta lg, and when. the detector indicates. aweit exhaustion it causes the. selector. tojro k an operate the. 3 5 releaser with whichit registers, therebyinitiat.-

.ing a. replenishing operation setting; the.

ne f r pe on fi- $;a .PQ =Qbiect. of my en nv nti n. o h di h se eb n out or register with. respect toall of the .releasers during the-third pick orjthe cycle so. that should the detector give indication of weft: exhaustion, as the shuttle. boxes are descendingno-bobbin. releaser will be operated-anda rep1ehishingop; eration Will-not beinitiated, V

In the. particular type. of loom previously mom tioned it is desirable to draw,,bobbins .in rotation qm he se e ta tqb in stack sa ha the f a a ty of. h ma azine an be tiliz d. A. r ent-lr desi ned mechan sm ff s he e-$1 1M b he u e. f. a. St e cnha ne a. different position and stepfo'r each releaser. When ,the stop tends to move toward the selector'it cannot ordinarily do so because the. selector is in an interfering position. It is another object of my present invention to provide means vnot only to..

move the selector to the aforesaid non-register.-

ing-position, butat the same time move. ittoe.

non-interfering positionwith respect to. the sclector stop.

In' addition to the shuttleboxes already men-. tioned, filling mixing pickv and. pick. weft. re.-

plenishing looms have shuttleboxes at. the end. thereof oppositethe'magazi-ne. The boxes atthe... magazine end shift on the first and thirdpickst of the four-pick cycle, while the boxes at. the ops posite end-shift on I the second a and .fourth picks,

It is a further object of my invention to move.

the selector to th aforesaid non-registering position: by means operatively connected to. the.

boxes at the end of the loom opposite. totho magazine.

The aforesaid stophastwo general movements,

one caused by gravity toward the. selector and the other caused positivelyin a.v direction.away.-..

from the selector. The. operating'mechanismfor.

the stop isjsuch that when moving away, from the.

selector the step may move far enough to. take the correct step thereof out of stopping position,

and; time must 'be allowed for it-to recover fromi any excess movement so that the correct step can move to stopping position before the selector is returned for registry with one or another ofthe release s. It 'isanqther object of myinventionto hold the selector in its non-interfering position a. considerable "length of time during which. the stopcan assume its correct position, and this result is accomplished by connecti the seleewr o he u t eboe e a e hsiio-f'f he loom, opposite. the magazine. These boxes hold the selector in a non-.interferingpositiQn for greater part of two picks, of the loom.

With these and other objects in view whichv will appear as. thedesoription proceeds, my, D}- vention resides in they combination and arrange:

n of P he ein fiet e tribe nd t' qrt Intheaccompanying drawings, wherein a con;-

venient embodiment of rny invention is set ,forth,

Fig.- 1 is a front elevationioi a weft replenishing.v loomhaving my. invention applied. thereto,

Fig. 2- is. an enlarged detailed frontv elevation of the structure shown at the right end. of Fig, 1,

Fig, 3 is a side, elevation looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2, showing the magazine as. seen from the center of the loom,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section on.1i ne.

44 of Fig. 3, parts, being omitted,

Fig. 5 is a reduced horizontal section on line.

Fig 4, showing the. selector. n non -i tr-.

fering and non-registering position in dotted lines,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the four-step stop for the stack selector used with my invention,

Figs. '7 to 10 are diagrammatic views showing the various positions of the stop and the control lever therefor, and

Fig. 11 is a detail plan view of the weft detector looking in the direction of arrow H, Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1 which shows a front View of a pick and pickweft replenishing filling mixing loom having shuttle boxes on each end thereof, the loom frame l5 supports a lay it which reciprocates backwardly and forwardly in usual manner and is provided at its right end with a gang GR of two shifting shuttle boxes and at its left end with a similar gang GL. The gang GR has top and bottom shuttle boxes I! and i8, respectively, mounted on a box lifter rod I!) which is raised and permitted to fall by a chain 2| forming art of a box shifting mechanism and connected to and leading upwardly from a collar 22 secured to the lifter rod l9. Chain 2| is trained over a sheave 23 on the lay and then extends across the loom and is trained around another lay carried sheave 24 from which it extends downwardly around a sheave 25 and then upwardly over sheave 26. extends around a sprocket 21 rotatable about a fixed axis and is connected to a lever 2-8 operated by a connector 29 of the box shifting mechanism K forming part of the well-known Knowles ead.

The shuttle box gang GL has top and bottom shuttle boxes 30 and 3|, respectively, mounted on a box lifter rod 32 connected to a box chain 33 trained over sheaves 34 on the lay and extending thence substantially parallel to chain 2| and trained around a second sprocket 35 similar to and coaxial with and in front of sprocket 21. Chain 33 then connects with a lever 36 similar to and in front of lever 28 and operated by a second connector 31 in front of connector 29 and included in the box shifting mechanism K. The

latter is of usual construction and it is thought sufficient to state that a pull on either box chain 2| or 33' will lift the corresponding box gang, while slackness in either chain permits the associated gang to fall.

The gangs GR and GL shift in well-known manner to place three shuttles in active position for so-called pick and pick filling mixing operation. These shuttles are indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 at S, S2 and S3 in boxes l1, l8 and 3|,

respectively, and the picking mechanism at the right and left ends of the 100m designated generally at P and P, respectively, operate alternately to pick the shuttles in such order that they follow each other at one-pick intervals, each shuttle after being active for one pick being shifted to inactive position, while another shuttle is being shifted into active position for the next pick. It is not thought necessary to set forth the details of the shiftings of the two gangs GR and GL during successive picks of the loom operation, since they are well understood and may be similar to the sequence shown for instance in my prior Patent No. 2,065,776.

Each gang of boxes operates on a four-pick cycle, being in down position for two successive picks to place its upper shuttle box in active position and then being up for the next two successive picks to place the bottom shuttle box in active position. The shiftings 0f the gangs GR and GL are out of phase with each other by one From sheave 26 the chain 21' pick so that one or the other of the gangs shift every pick of the loom when the lay is in the forward part of its reciprocating movement, but the two gangs do not shift simultaneously. Thus, when gang GR shifts upwardly on one pick gang GL will be stationary with respect to the lay. On the next pick gang GL will shift upwardly and gang GR will be at rest in high position relatively to the lay. On the third pick gang GR shifts downwardly while the gang GL remains in high position, and on the fourth pick gang GL shifts down while gang GR remains in low position. In the description which follows particular reference will be made to the four-pick cycle of shifting' operations for the gang GR audit will be assumed that the cycle starts when shuttle box I! is down and in active position but is about to rise to inactive position as the lay moves forwardly.

The magazine for supplying reserve bobbins is designated generally at M and is provided with four bobbin stacks which, starting at the front of the loom and reading backwardly, are indicated at I, II, III and IV, see Fig. 3. These stacks are preferably all supplied with bobbins of the same kind, and each stack has associated therewith a bobbin releaser, these releasers being indicated more particularly in Fig.3 at 40, 4|, 42 and 43. Each releaser has upper and lower operating lugs 44 and 45, respectively, and is guided in well-known manner for Vertical reciprocation on the inner bobbin butt guiding plate 46 of the magazine M. The bottom of each of the bobbin releasers is associated with a bobbin delivering cradle of well-known construction, a part of which is indicated in Fig. 3 at 41. The releasers are normally down and their associated cradles are empty, but when any releaser is raised its cradle rocks to receive a bobbin from the corresponding stack and a dog 48 pivoted on the upper end of the releaser is movedby its spring 48 over a bar or shelf 50 secured to a shaft 5!, see dotted lines Fig. 4. When a. raised releaser is lowered to normal position the. associated cradle rocks to empty itself of the bobbin which it previously received and at the same time dog 48 rocks shaft 5| clockwise, Fig. 4, to lower a rod 52, Fig. 3, for the purpose of raising latch 53 on transferrer arm 54 to transfer position, after which the released bobbin in transfer osition indicated in dotted lines at B, Fig. 3, is inserted into the shuttle in box H.

A releaser selector and operator or actuator 55, shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 5, comprises a rod 56 horizontally slidable in front and back bearings 51 and 58, respectively, formed as integral parts of the inner magazine frame 45. This rod has secured thereto a casting 59 having front and back lifting and depressing fingers at and 6!, respectively. Casting 59 has a web 5.2 for cooperation with a rocking lever 63 pivoted on rod 56, see Fig. 5, and connected to 3. depending rod 64 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The selector can rock to raise and lower its fingers E9 and of and can also shift laterally to change registry of the fingers with respect to the operating lugs as and 45 of the several releasers.

Lateral shifting of the selector is accomplished by mechanism shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 5'and including a grooved collar 65 secured to the rear end of rod 56 and receiving a lug 66 on the upper end of a lever 61 pivoted as at 68 with respect to the magazine frame. A tension spring 69 tends normally to move lever 61 forwardly to. the position ShOWIliill Fig.3 to register fingerfiflrwithvreleaser 40;

Rocking movement of. selectorr55=to operatethe releasers is controlled in part by a weftdetector D, .see Figs; 1, 2.-and 3;made somewhat-similar to; the, detectorshownin Payne Patent. No. 2,050,066. The: weft detector is mounted forverticalzmovement under the magazine, I so :that it may remain constantlyin; register with thetop shuttle boxv l7. The detector includesa 132156501 plate see Fig. 11; horizontally slida-ble' on. a suppDrtJl 'g-uidedfor vertical, reciprocation on a bracket '12;-see:F.ig: 2; held in fixed position on a large stud: 13: forming-part of 'the ma azine. The lower'endnof, the supportxll is connected to agrod 14 the lower end of which is-attach'ed: to the box lifterr-rod: I 9; at I5; see-Fig; 1.; .As theboxlifter rodarises it actsthroughrod: M to Iiftthesup port :-'!I andcarry the detector upwardly in. register, -withthe box l'l'as the latter risesfrom active; position: aligned with, the lay to inactive position above thezalevel" of the day; Whenboxll descends the detectormoves down, and the latter-isithus" kept in horizontal alignment with box Ila-t all times.

The detector D is of the side slipping type and thelatter 'rearwardly; When'the finger engages an'ample supply of weft W- in shuttle box I'I' it is moved forwardly to slide the base. 18; frontwardly on supportH. If the finger'lfi'engages empty bobbin it slides laterally in usual manner: and spring 18'- holds the-base in rear position, a 6011- dition which results: in an indication of weft: exhaustion.

The base 19 has secured tothe forward; end thereof a depending. arm 82 which coacts with a lever 83 secured to and projecting. upwardlyv from a short shaft 84 mounted for rotation on' the bracket 12, see Figs. Zand: 1:1. A second'lever 85 also secured to shaft 8.4 and rocking withlever 83 has its upper endconnected tonarearwardly extending controller pin, 85. the position of-which determines whether or not the-loom, is-to have; a replenishing operation. 7 v

A vertically reciprocating; block -90. is guided; on bracket 12 x and has pivoted thereto; an actuator is connected to the lower end of the previously described rod 64-; The right end of lever 91' ex-- tends through aguide slot 92 in a horn 93 fixed with respectto the bracket. 12." and across which the controllerapin 8E. normally extends, being-:held

the lay is in front center position; on the first and third" picks of the aforesaid fourepick; cycle;

When the detectorfinger 'EBZengagesa bobbin with ample weftW'in box l1 as-thelatterrises, it is pushed forwardly and causes arm 82 to movelevers 83 and 85 forwardlyto pull controller pin 86 forwardly from slot 92- and-lever'illa The right end of lever 91', Fig. 2, thereuponhas an idle down motion and rod 64 remains at rest; causing-n0 rocking of lever 63 or the-selector 55:. If, on the other hand, the detector shouldene counteran empty supply of'weft in box HZ it remains in rear positionandarm azcwill'not-rock: shaft 84; hence the controller piniwillfremainin:

reaaposition a ross:s1Qt-;92.-;. Under-thesecondi: tions: pinaSBI-interrupts down-motion; 0f the right end: of lev r 91 Fig; 2; ,and:becomes. ;atmrmora y piv t-around:whichthel v r-r cks. a sin rod 64 to:.;d e;s0en.d andirocklever Wand-selector 55 iin a counter-clockwise direction as;;viewed in Fig. 4; The fingers iillvand Blthereuponrise from; the full line; to-the dottedline=position of- Fig; 4 and:

' raiseto-the dottedlinepositionshown in-Fi'g: 4. whichever bobbin releaser is registered with the selector: Lever: 9| actsto raise fingers-'60 and 61 only whenv the detector indicates weft iexhaus-c tionon either; thefirst: or the third; pick of the aforesaid fourrpick cycle:

Immediate y; llowi g: each;v downward: movementct block-19. the latt rhas .ar1 :upwardmov ment-to-caus -lev r 9i o..enga erandrock. around ifixed-v p flfiaa ee -Fig, th eupon lifting ro sand causing fingers; Biliand Blztorbe lowered: o the dot and dash line position ,OLEig; 4 for the nurpose' of; lowering: nyrpreviously raised. re-- leaseri; This; last; oper tion occurs: on alternate DiGKSE. and;during: thelatterpart of the first and thi-rd picks; of {the aforesaidvcycle and, independrntl of: wheth r orrnotithe; detector has indicated weft: exhaustion. During the second and fourthpicks-pf" the cycle; theeblockt 9D: is stationary; and is.;incapableof transmittingian indication .of weft exhaustion? by theqdetector to the selector 55-.-

- The selectorcantherefore, be rocked only, during thefiljst and thirdpicksof theaforesaid cycleand notduring-the secondand fourth :picks when gang GL is shifting. This is animportant relationship,

as will; be apparentainthe; description tofollow,

and: differs from. the usual: weft replenishingmulticolor loom.

Aired: 921, see:Figs.;.2:,: 31131Ild'14, israisedand lowered by rocking ofishaft 51* andcontrols the. usual thread; cutter:- and resetting mechanism designatedzgenerally;at B8; see-particularly: Fig: 3;.

The greater: part Off the. matter-thus far described may be madeasheretofore, much. ofit being-:asIsetfOrth more particularly in Ryon Batent; No. 1,030.3748; and;Turner= copending ape plicaition Serial. No; 03526; now Patent No;

The gangi-GRcshifts on a' four-pick cycle, but lever: 911301261313681011181 twoepick' cycle, and it; is for. this-treason: that the-detector cangive indication..of exhaustion twice-for: each complete shifting otia'the; gang. GB: The first of these indications can occur on the first: of the'four picks of! the: cycle'and mayproperlyx be followed .b a

rocking of theselector 55 to initiate replenish ment; but. the second indication occurs when gangi isndescending-at an. improper time to initiate-replenishment:because: ofrthe fact that box H: would be=toolowato receive abobbinf-rom the transfer position B";

Parirof my: inventionrelates-"to means for preventing: an indication of weft exhaustion which may occur on the third pick from causing upward movement of any releaser toinitiate an operation ofthe magazine, "In carrying: this feature of my invention into effectiIz permit all" of the connec-- tions between the detector andstheselector-to remain unchanged, but shift .theselector- OlltiOf register with all the releasers during the third pickrofithe-"cycle; To accomplish this result I connect lever- 67.1 to: some part. which shifts in timed? relation with: the gang GL, as shownin Fig. 1*.

' A2. connector; mo attached; as at I01: to lever 61?, see Hg. 3; extends: rearwa'rdlyand is: led around: a=. guide: sheave I02 on: the loom: flame and then upwardly over a second guide sheave I03 on the loom arch I04. The connector I then extends across the loom and is connected to a member or lever I05 pivoted at I06 to the arch. The lower end of lever I05 is connected by rod I0? to chain 33 at I08, Thus it is that when gang GL rises due to a pull on chain 33, rod I01 moves to the right, Fig. 1, thereby rocking lever I05 counter-clockwise to pull connector I00 and rock lever 61 rearwardly, or to the left, Fig. 3, thereupon moving the selector 55 to the dotted line position of Fig. 5 where the fingers 50 and 0! are out of register with all the releasers. This occurs during the second pick of the aforesaid cycle when the block 90 is stationary and the fingers 60 and BI are in neutral position shown in full lines, Fig. 4. During rearward movement of selector 55, therefore, there is no danger of collision between the fingers 60 and SI, and lugs 44 and 45.

Gang GL and the mechanism associated with it for controlling lever 61 remains in its shifted position to maintain the selector in non-registering position with respect to all of the releasers during the third pick and until the gang GL again shifts downwardly during the fourth pick, Thus it is that selector 55 is in an inoperative position during the third pick of the four-pick cycle and if the weft detector should indicate exhaustion during this pick the selector can rock in the usual manner but it will not lift any of the releasers and therefore will not initiate a replenishing operation of the loom.

When gang GL shifts down rod I0I moves to the left, Fig. 1, and rocks lever I05 clockwise, thereby slackening connector I00, and spring 69 moves the selector forwardly. This occurs during the fourth pick when the block 90 is stationary, and the selector is thus returned to a position where it can register with and operate one or another of the releasers during the first pick of the next four-pick cycle.

The position of the gang GL is such during the first pick of the four-pick cycle that it does not interfere with movement of lever '61 and the latter can respond to positioning mechanism to be described and operative to cause registr of the selector with the four releasers in rotation.

In looms of the type to which my invention more particularly relates the weft of all the reserve bobbins in the four stacks of the magazine is wound with the same kind of filling. In order to take advantage of the full capacity of the magazine it is desirable to distribute the selection of bobbins with respect to the stacks during successive replenishing operations of the 100m, This result I accomplish by stop mechanism for the selector similar to that set forth in copending application Serial No. 520,264, now Patent No. 2,364,979, but unlike that application, the stop mechanism shown herein is permitted to move to certain of its positions by a control exercised by means under control of the gang GL.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3 I have shown a small stand I secured to the magazine end plate 46 and having a lever I2I pivoted thereto between its ends as at I22. The forward end of lever IN is provided with a pin I23 extending through a slot I24 in the upper end of a depending lifter rod I25. The rod I25 has secured to the lower end thereof a stop I26 having four steps I21, I28, I29 and I30 corresponding, respectively, to releasers 40, II, 42 and 43, see Fig. 6, and areas a, b, c and d, respectively, on the upper edge of lever I2I, This stop is made in ationof the several releasers.

in box I'I. fact that the gang GL shifts only every second the form of an inverted U and straddles the rod 56 of the selector and by its position determines with which of the releasers the selector 55 shall register.

The vertical positions of the stop I26 is determined by the severa1 angular positions of lever I2I and these positions in turn result from oper- To effect angular movement of lever I2I each of the releasers has the dog 48 thereof provided with an integral upwardly extending hook I35, see Fig. 4, shown more particularly in co-pending application Serial No. 515,203, filed by Patterson, now Patent No. 2,363,620. The four operating areas a, b, c and d of lever I2I are each positioned for cooperation with the hooks I35,

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 3 rod I25 is in high position and the low stop I21 is in the path of the selector 55 so that finger 60 is held in register with the front releaser 40 by spring 69. When releaser 40 has a reciprocating movement incident to a replenishing operation involving stack I its hook I35 engages area a. and rocks lever I2I in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 and from the full line to the dotted line position of Fig. 7 to place area b in position for cooperation with the hook of releaser 4| and also lower pin I23 sufiiciently to permit rod I25 and stop I26 to fall when they are free to do so for the purpose of placing step I 28 in the path of the selector to register the latter with releaser 4|.

The stop, however, will not be able to move downwardly far enough to place step I28 in controlling position due to the fact that the selector is in an interfering position, being in register with releaser 40. It is necessary therefore to move the selector 55 rearwardly to permit the stop I26 to fall, and this result is accomplished by the same mechanism which moves the selector rearwardly to a non-registering position with respect to all of the releasers.

The transfer incident to reciprocation of releaser 40 is completed during the first pick of the four-pick cycle and the gang GL shifts during the second pick and moves the selector rearwardlyto a non-interfering position, whereupon stop I26 is able to fall and place step I28 in the path of the selector. After the selector reaches the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5 it remains there during the third pick of the four-pick sequence and even if the weft detector should give another indication of weft exhaustion, releaser 4| will not be operated and the sequence of bobbin deliveries from the stacks will not be interrupted by a second delivery while the same shuttle is This relationship grows out of the pick of the loom, and after shifting on the second pick remains in its new position through the third pick and until bottom center position of the lay in the fourth pick.

When gang GL shifts down during the fourth pick of the cycle spring 69 tries to move the selector 55 to its extreme forward position, but the selector will be stopped by step I28 with finger 60 in register with the second releaser 4!. The selector is therefore back in position to initiate a second replenishing operation of the loom on the first pick of the next or any ensuing fourpick cycle if the detector should indicate weft exhaustion.

The second replenishing operation will involve upward movement of selector 4! and when the latter is depressed to release a bobbin from the second stack II the corresponding hook- I35 willengage surface b which is nearer the pivot of lever I2I than area a and rock the lever sothat rod [25 and stop I26 will try to fall to their lowest position. During this operation hook I35 of'releaser 4'I engages area b and moves lever l-2 I' from the full line to the dotted line position of Fig. 8, thereby placing surface 12- in its highest position where it is located for engagement" with the hook of releaser 43; Step I30 now tries to- When the'third transfer is to'occur involving a bobbin from the rearmost stack IVthe hook of releaser 43 will engage area d and rock leveri'2-I in'a counter-clockwise direction from thefull line to the dotted line position of Fig. 9 to lift the stop I26- so that surface IZS'thereof will be in the path of the selector. This is a' positive control exercised by the lever not requiring rearward shift of'the selector, but this shifting is provided for nevertheless in order toavoid complications'which might otherwise be necessary if rearward shifting wereto be avoided on those transferring beats when the stop I26 is moved upwardly; When selector'55' again moves forward from its rearmost position it is registered with releaser 42 by step I29.

The fourth transfer involving a bobbin from stack III will result in a second counter-clockwise movement of lever I2'I by engagement of surface with the hook of releaser 42 the effect of whichis to move lever I21 from the full line tothe dotted lineposition of Fig. 10 and return lever I21" to its starting position with the pin I23 up'so that the'stop I26 again has its low surface I2? in the path' of the selector.

Itis necessary to provide for downward movement of stud I23 when the selector is in an interfering position with respect to the stop" I25, and it is'for this reason that slot I24 is provided in the upper'end of connector I25. The presence'of" this slot, however, makes it possible for thestop I26 to have an excess upward movement when stud I23 is raised. Thus, when t'he'hook" I3 5- of the rearmost releaser 6'3 rocks the lever IZI in a counter-clockwisedirection as'viewed in Fig. 3'

the pin I23 will be given a quick upward movement and the stop I26 will rise high enough to move stop surface I29 above the path of the selector 55. .This excess upward movement is.

only'temporary and. the stop almost immediately recovers itself by gravity. Immediately following this excess upward movement, however, the selector ismoved to the rear dotted line position of Fig. 5, as already described and is heldthere for the greater part'of two picks, thereby givingv the stop I26 ample time to recover its excess upward movement and allowit to fall to' its proper position. with-stop surface I29'in the path of" the selector. This same operation involving an excess upward movement of the stop also occurs when lever I2] is being rocked'ba'ck to itsstartin'g'position shown in full lines in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing it will be seen that Iprevent the detector from initiating replenishment on a wrong pick of the loom and also permit the stop I26 to' fall to stopping position in the" path of the selector by the simple expedient of moving the selector away'from the stop to anon-regis terin'g position with respe'ctt'o all of the releasers.

These two resultsare accomplished by connecting the selector to the shifting shuttle boxes at the caused to'operate properly by moving the selector to'a non-registering and non-interfering position relatively to'the'releasers and Stop I26, respectively. In the second of these instrumentalities the lever I2I which is moved by. the releaser hooks serves'as a control means for the stop I26 and allows the latter to fall into the path of the selector when in certain of its positions.

Having thus describedmy invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made thereinby those skilled in the art without departing ifrom the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to belimited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. .In' a weft replenishing loom having at the replenishing end thereof 'a Weft supply in a shifting shuttle box which is in raised inactive positiononthe first and second picks of the loom and is in down active position on the third andfourth picks of the loom, the loom having a' plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with the releasers one at a time and having an releasers, a, weft detector to detect said weft sup} ply and capable of indicating weft exhaustion on the first and third picks of the loom, means controlled by the detector and'oper'ative on the first andthird picks of the loom when the detector indicates Weft exhaustion to give the selector said operating movement, said means being idle during the second and fourth picks'of the loom, and means operativeduring the second pick of the 100111 to move the selector to said non registering position out of register with respect to all of the bobbin releasers and maintain the selector in said non-registering position during the third pick of the m;

2. In a weft replenishing loom having at the replenishing end thereof a, weft supply in a shifting-shuttle box-which is in raised inactive posishuttle boxes at the end of the loom opposite said shifting shuttle box'having a shifting movement on the second'lpick ofthe loom, and meansmoving-in timed relation with said shuttle boxes to move theselector tosaid non-registering position with respect to all'of thereleasersduring theses- 0nd pick and maintain said selector in said nonregistering position during the third pick.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having at the replenishing end thereof a weft supply in a shifting shuttle box which is in raised inactive position on the first and second picks of the loom and is in down active position on the third and fourth picks of the loom, the loom having a plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with the releasers one at a time and having an operating movement upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the releaser registered therewith, said selector being capable of moving to a nonregistering position with respect to all of said releasers, a weft detector to detect said Weft supply and capable of indicating weft exhaustion on the first and third picks of the loom, shuttle boxes at the end of the loom opposite said shifting shuttle box which are in one position during the first pick of the loom and shift to be in a different position during the third pick of the loom, and means operatively connected to the boxes and effective when the latter shift to said different position to move the selector to said non-registering position with respect to all of the releasers.

4. In a weft replenishing loom having at the replenishing end thereof a weft supply in a shifting shuttle box which is in raised inactive position on the first and second picks of the loom and is in down active position on the third and fourth picks of the loom, the loom having a plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with the releasers one at a time and having an operating movement upon indication of.

weft exhaustion to actuate the releaser registered therewith, said selector being capable of moving to a non-registering position with respect to all of said releasers, a Weft detector to detect said weft supply and capable of indicating weft exhaustion on the first and third picks of the loom, a member occupying one position during the first pick of the loom and moving to occupy a different position during the third pick of the loom, and connections between the member and the selector to move the latter to said non-registering position with respect to all of the bobbin releasers when said member moves to said different position.

5. In a pick and pick filling mixing weft replenishing loom having a magazine provided with a plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with the releasers one at a time, said loom having shuttle boxes at the magazine end of the loom which operate in a four pick cycle and shift during the first and third picks of the cycle, the loom having other shuttle boxes at the opposite end of the loom which shift during the second and fourth picks of the cycle, the selector operative upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the bobbin releaser registered therewith, a weft detector capable of indicating Weft exhaustion in one of the first named shuttl boxes during the first and third picks of the cycle, and means moving in timed relation with said other shuttle boxes and effective to maintain the selector in a non-registering position with respect to all of the bobbin releasers during the third pick of the cycle.

6. In a pick and pick filling mixing weft replenishing loom having a magazine provided with a plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with the releasers one at a time, said loom having shuttle boxes at the magazine end of the loom which operate in a four pick cycle and shift during the first and third picks of the cycle, the loom having other shuttle boxes at the opposite end of the loom which shift during the second and fourth picks of the cycle, the selector operative upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the bobbin releaser registered therewith, a weft detector capable of indicating weft exhaustion in the upper one of the boxes at the magazine end of the loom during the first and third picks of the cycle, means operatively connected to said other shuttle boxes and said selector to move the latter to a non-registering position with respect to all of the bobbin releasers when said other shuttle boxes shift on the second pick of the cycle and maintain said selector in said non-registering position during the third pick of the cycle.

7. In a pick and pick filling mixing weft replenishing loom having a, magazine provided with a plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registering with the releasers one at a time and operative upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the releaser registered therewith, said selector being movable to a non-registering position with respect to all of said releasers, shuttle boxes under the magazine which shift alternately to- Ward and away from the magazine, a Weft detector capable of indicating weft exhaustion in one of said shuttle boxes when the latter are shifting either toward or away from the magazine, and means effective when said shuttle boxes are shifting away from the magazine to maintain the selector in a non-registering position with respect to all of said releasers.

8. In a pick and pick filling mixing Weft replem'shing loom having a magazine provided with a pluralit of boblbin releasers and a selector registering with the releasers one at a time and operative upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the releaser registered therewith, shuttle boxes under the magazine which operate in a four cycle and shift toward th magazine on the first pick of the cycle and shift away from the magazine on the third pick of the cycle, a weft detector capable of indicating weft exhaustion when said shuttle boxes are shifting either toward or away fromthe magazine, means moving during the second pick of the cycle from on position to another position thereof and remaining in said other position during the third pick of the cycle, and connections between said means and the selector operative when said means moves to said other position thereof to effect movement of the selector to a non-registering position with re- 'spect to all of the bobbin releasers.

9. In a weft replenishing loom having at the replenishing end thereof shifting shuttle boxes which are up for two successive picks and then down for two successive picks, the loom havin a bobbin releaser and a selector tending to move in a given direction along a path and registering with the releaser, said selector having an operating movement to actuate the releaser upon indication of weft exhaustion, a weft detector capable of indicating weft exhaustion when the shuttle boxes are up and also when they are down, a stop movable into the path of the selector, control means for the stop moved from one position to another position by the releaser when the latter is operated by the selector, said stop when the control means is in said other position thereof tending to move into the path of the selector but prevented from doing so due to the fact that the selector is in an interfering position, and means moving th selector out of registering position with respect to the releaser to prevent thev selector from operating the releaser when said shuttle boxes are down, and also move said selector in a direction opposite to said given direction to a non-interfering position to permit the stop to move into the path of the selector.

10. In a weft replenishing loom having a set of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with the releasers one at a time and tending to move in a given direction relatively to the releasers, said selector having an operating movement upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the releaser registered therewith, shifting shuttle boxes operating on a four pick cycle and moving a weft supply to inactive position on the first pick of the cycle and moving the weft supply to active position on the third pick of the cycle'. a weft detector having detecting operations with respect to the weft supply during said first and third picks and capable of indicating weft exhaustion during both of said detecting operations thereof, a stop for the selector tending to move from one position thereof to a different position thereof in the path of the selector consequent upon actuation of a releaser registered with said selector to,

change registry of the selector relatively to the releasers but prevented from moving to said different position thereof due to the fact that the selector is in an interfering position, and means effective between said detecting operation of the detector on said first and third pick to move the selector out of registry with all of the releasers and also move the selector in a direction opposite to said given direction to a non-interfering position with respect to said stop to permit the latter to move to said different position thereof in the path of the selector.

11. In a weft replenishing loom having a plurality of bobbin releasers and a selector registerable with said releasers one at a time and having an operating movement upon indication of weft exhaustion to actuate the releaser registered therewith, shifting shuttle boxes operating on a four pick cycle and moving a, weft supply to inactive position on the first pick of the cycle and moving the weft supply to active position on the third pick of the cycle, a Weft detector having detecting operations relatively to the weft supply during said first and third picks and capable of indicating weft exhaustion incident to each of said detecting operations, a stop for the selector tending to move from one position thereof to a different position thereof in the path of the selector to change the registry of the selector relatively to the releasers but prevented from moving to said different position thereof due to presence of the selector in an interfering position, means operated by the releaser registering with the selector when the latter has an operating movement and operatively connected to the stop to hold the latter in said one position thereof prior to said operating movement of the selector tor permitted to remain in an interfering position 7 and permitting the stop to move to said different position of the latter subsequent to said operating movement of the selector, and means to maintain the selector in a position of non-registry with respect to all of the releasers when the detector has the detecting operations thereof on said third pick to prevent actuation of any releaser by said selector, said means also moving the selector to a non-interfering position relatively to said stop, whereupon the latter moves to said different position thereof, and means cooperating with the stop when the latter is in said different position thereof to register the selector with a different releaser.

12. In a weft replenishing pick and pick filling mixing loom having a, plurality of stacks of reserve bobbins and having a gang of shifting shutthe boxes at each end thereof, the gang at the replenishing end shifting upwardly toward said stacks to place the top shuttle box thereof in transfer position on the first pick of a cycle of four successive picks and shifting down on the third pick of the cycle to move said top shuttle box to non-transferring position, two instrumentalities, one to release a bobbin for a replenishing operation and the other to determine the order in which bobbins are to be released with reference to their stacks of origin for successive replenishing operations, the first instrumentality including a, weft detector always in register with said top shuttle box of the gang, a bobbin releaser for each stack operative when reciprocated to release a bobbin for transfer from the associated stack, a selector registerable with the releasers one at a, time and having movements on either the first or the third pick of said cycle to effect reciprocation of any releaser registered therewith, provided the detector indicates weft exhaustion on said first or third picks, the second instrumentality including a stepped stop for the seelctor movable to as many different positions relatively to the selector as there are stacks of bobbins, each position corresponding to registry of the selector with a different releaser, means tending during a succession of replenishing operations to effect a succession of movements of said stop to the different positions thereof but prevented from doing so due to presence of the selector in an interfering position relatively to the stop, and means operative to move said selector out of register with all of said releasers to prevent reciprocation of any releaser during said third pick of the cycle and also move the selector to a non-interfering position relatively to said stop, to the end that no releaser may be reciprocated during said third pick or the selecto interrupt the order in which bobbinsare released.

WALTER H. WAKEFIELD. 

